Readers' Travel Awards 2013

Earlier this year we asked you to vote for the things you love about travel, from holiday hotels to destination spas, airlines to cruise lines. From your answers we have produced this, our 16th annual Readers' Travel Awards, your choice of the best the travel world has to offer. Our Top 100 pays tribute to the highest scorers, irrespective of category. And this year, the top marks go to…

Parrot Cay by COMO(pictured) in the Turks & Caicos not only won the award for best hotel in THE AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN but scored so highly it made the number-one spot in our 'best of the best' Top 100. You raved about absolutely everything, but decided to single out its beachfront location and relaxed atmosphere for special mention. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, you displayed a robust appetite for the food at Eden Rock on St Barth's and think the open-sided rooms at Anse Chastanet, St Lucia deserve top billing. Of all the hotels in EUROPE, TURKEY & RUSSIA, there is nowhere you would rather be on holiday than Le Bristol Paris. You are bowled over by its restaurants (and who wouldn't, with four Michelin stars between them?) and updated classic atmosphere. But it was over to Italy for the hotel with the best location, with virtually identical scores for Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli on sparkling Lake Garda and Hotel Splendido overlooking Portofino.

Your favourite place to stay in THE MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA & THE INDIAN OCEAN is Soneva Fushi in the Maldives, which you believe cannot be bettered for both service and design. The stupendous villas on North Island earned the Seychelles property the top slot for rooms, and last year's winner, Singita Grumeti, got superlative marks for its awesome Serengeti location.

In ASIA & INDIA, Thailand's delightful Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai scored consistently well in all areas, but shot to number one thanks to a double first for service and location. In India, the restored Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad was commended for its majestic atmosphere and Amankila in Bali for its timeless design, while the seven excellent restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok gave the hotel top marks for food.

Over in AUSTRALASIA & THE SOUTH PACIFIC, Huka Lodge in New Zealand, no stranger to these awards, just keeps hitting the mark: this time it won for its elegant rooms and farm-fresh food. In Australia the relatively new Southern Ocean Lodge was singled out for innovative design, and you thought the lagoon-side location of Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora was absolute perfection.

What are all these numbers? They are an index of satisfaction, scored out of a maximum of 100. In our Readers' Travel Awards 2013 questionnaire (with the April 2013 issue and at www.cntraveller.com), you were asked to choose the best that the travel world has to offer - from hotels and spas to airlines and airports. You were then asked to rate your choices according to various criteria, such as service, culture and value for money. From your responses, we calculated the average mark on each criterion, and used this to provide the overall satisfaction percentage figure that you see on these pages and in The World's Top 100 on page 52.

When it comes to sealing a deal, London is the business. In fact, The Lowry Hotel in Manchester was the only hotel outside the capital to make it onto your list of the top 15 business hotels in the UK. This year's winner, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, was singled out for its restaurants and Knightsbridge location, but runner-up The Dorchester took top place for both rooms and atmosphere. Over in Mayfair, Brown's Hotel was lauded for design and Claridge's for its famously good service, while Corinthia Hotel London came out fighting, with top marks for facilities. 1. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London 92.24 2. The Dorchester, London 91.55 3. Brown's Hotel, London 89.05 4. Claridge's, London 87.77 5. Dukes Hotel, London 85.97 6. The Connaught, London 84.74 7. The Ritz London 83.57 8. The Athenaeum, London 81.22 9. Corinthia Hotel London 80.07 10. The Lowry Hotel, Manchester 79.41 11. One Aldwych, London 77.63 12. The Soho Hotel, London 76.15 13. The Savoy, London 74.19 14. The Grosvenor Hotel, London 73.56 15. The Langham London 73.33

Italy is your favourite country for the second year in a row. So what is it that impresses you about the place? Pretty much everything, it seems. It settled at the top thanks to remarkably high scores in all five criteria on which we asked you to vote, but ultimately beat the competition with top marks for culture and food. Elsewhere, you think the USA has the best places to stay (followed closely by France), and you love New Zealand and Australia for their epic landscapes, with near-identical scores for scenery. And where do you feel most welcome? Well, it seems you blow hot and cold: you say that Greece is the world's most hospitable country, followed by Canada.

1. Italy 94.49

2. USA 93.89

3. France 92.98

4. Spain 91.80

5. Greece 90.05

6. Australia 89.72

7. New Zealand 88.44

8. Thailand 86.89

9. South Africa 86.70

10. India 85.44

11. Canada 83.50

12. Turkey 82.95

13. Switzerland 80.85

14. Sri Lanka 80.47

15. Ireland 79.28

16. Mexico 77.84

17. UAE 77.16

18. Vietnam 75.26

19. Iceland 74.07

20. Portugal 73.82

ISLANDS

This year's winner, the Spanish Balearic Islands, got your vote for having the most enticing places to stay, scoring higher even than the Maldives and Mauritius, which you think have the best beaches, along with Seychelles and Barbados. You have a healthy appetite for the food on Sicily, but St Lucia captured your heart for its dramatic scenery, and those other Spanish outposts, the Canary Islands, cashed in with the highest score for value for money.

1. Balearic Islands 95.69

2. Greek Islands 94.88

3. Maldives 93.75

4. Sicily 93.35

5. Seychelles 92.95

6. Mauritius 91.90

7. Barbados 91.28

8. St Lucia 90.86

9. Canary Islands 90.08

10. Malta 88.45

11. St Barth's 87.22

12. Bali 86.09

13. Isle of Skye 85.06

14. Cuba 83.87 15. Corsica 82.92

16. Antigua 81.70

17. Hawaiian Islands 81.29

18. Sardinia 80.58

19. Cyprus 80.13

20. Capri 78.89

OVERSEA CITIES

You gave European beauties Florence, Rome and Barcelona picture-perfect scores for architecture, but New York pranced ahead of the pack thanks to its great nightlife and its variety of places to stay. Heading south, Sydney is hailed as having the friendliest people in the world, but when it comes to soaking up culture, nowhere does it quite as well as Paris and Venice.

1. New York 90.54

2. Paris 89.25

3. Rome 87.98

4. Barcelona 87.34

5. Venice 86.16

6. Sydney 85.50

7. Florence 85.17

8. Hong Kong 83.95

9. Cape Town 82.75

10. San Francisco 81.48

11. Istanbul 80.37

12. Vancouver 79.57

13. Dubai 78.39

14. Berlin 77.34

15. Amsterdam 76.13

16. Madrid 74.88

17. Singapore 74.28

18. Bangkok 73.51

19. Las Vegas 72.59

20. Lisbon 72.31

UK CITIES

Based on the final scores, there was hardly a whisker between the top three cities in the UK, but London edged into first place thanks to its fantastic restaurants and bars, and also places to stay. Elsewhere, you took Edinburgh extremely seriously for its culture, and awarded Oxford the highest score for architecture, but if it's nightlife you're after, don't think twice: head for Manchester.

On a SHORT-HAUL HOLIDAY, you prefer British Airways for its range of routes, its food and its standard of service. But Lufthansa tops your list for punctuality, closely followed by Swiss International Air Lines. For a LONG-HAUL HOLIDAY, Emirates flies high above the rest for in-flight entertainment and service, but British Airways fares best for food and Etihad Airways for airport lounges. When on BUSINESS, you plump for British Airways because you say it has the best loyalty reward scheme and airport lounges around.

Cunard Line sailed straight to the top of the LARGE SHIPS category with irrepressible scores for both service and entertainment, although Crystal Cruises rules the waves for cabins and MSC Cruises is unbeatable come supper time. In the SMALL SHIPS category, you put this year's winner, Silversea Cruises, on a pedestal for its service, but were more impressed with the cabins on Seabourn and the food on Windstar Cruises.

You want a house with a pool for 15 close friends, and you want it now. Who do you call first? This year Abercrombie & Kent Villas & Chalets crossed the winning line with top marks for both range of villas and destinations. But when it comes to on-the-ground support, The Thinking Traveller is your preferred villa company, and Simpson Travel has you hooked for value for money. 1. Abercrombie & Kent Villas & Chalets 92.40 2. James Villa Holidays 91.57 3. The Thinking Traveller 88.20 4. Simpson Travel 86.75 5. Villas of Distinction 85.18 6. Vintage Travel 83.28 7. SJ Villas 81.83 8. CV Travel 81.83 9. Owners Direct 79.59 10. Five Star Greece 76.03

TOUR OPERATORS

When it is time to sort out a holiday, your favourite company to speak to is Scott Dunn, which you think is brilliant for its variety of destinations and service. You judged runner-up Kuoni best for range of places to stay, and put Trailfinders ahead of the pack for reliability. But for first-hand knowledge of destination, you gave the top score to Carrier, followed by ITC Classics. 1. Scott Dunn 88.71 2. Kuoni 88.06 3. Trailfinders 87.44 4. Carrier 86.19 5. ITC Classics 83.85 6. Elegant Resorts 81.79 7. Abercrombie & Kent 80.44 8. Turquoise Holiday Company 78.75 9. Cox & Kings 77.50 10. Africa Travel 76.51 11. Hayes & Jarvis 75.34 12. Cazenove+Loyd 74.24 13. Greaves Travel 73.02 14. Audley 71.60 15. Red Savannah 71.44